#cocklebur

[microscope-world]

Cocklebur under the stereo microscope.

[the-final-sentence]

Angry as the wind when a blizzard digs in.

Erin Belieu, from "Cocklebur"

[textless]

Caterpillar hunter beetles, relentless and slightly spooky.

Cochise County, Arizona.  October 2021.

[thegorgonist]

Days 28 and 29 of my Poisonous Flower Fairy series are Xanthium (aka Cocklebur) and Yellow Jessamine!

[conspectusargosy]

Xanthium strumarium, the Rough Cocklebur, is a widespread member of the sunflower family. It is commonly found in wetlands where the burs are buoyant and can flow with the water. The hooks on the bur allow it to readily snag on mammal fur, or even lightly hook into skin which likewise aids in distribution. Most parts of the plant are at least somewhat toxic although the seeds have been eaten in small quantities without harm. After eating large amounts of the plant, both animals and humans have been known to become sick or die but despite that, the Carolina parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis) feasted readily on on the seeds without harm to themselves. Animals that ate them (such as feral domestic cats) were noted to be poisoned and indicates just one facet of human intervention which led to their extinction as early as 1918 when the last known individual died in a cage. The extinction of this species was manifest through many human-driven factors including deforestation, hunting, and the pet trade. With this species extinct and one other of the original three native parrots eliminated in this range, only one still exists within the United States.

[shadyufo]

Replenishing my stock of cockleburs for my Etsy shop! Got a couple gallon baggies full this afternoon!

I’ve sold a ton of these over the years—people use them for curio cabinets, to make jewelry with, but most often it’s for educational purposes. Lot of home school groups buy them and I’ve even supplied thousands to educational supply companies who send them to schools around the country for kids to examine under microscopes. They get to see the teeny tiny hooks on the barbs that allow these little seed pods to travel for miles and miles on animals’ fur or people’s clothing. Pretty rad!

[crudlynaturephotos]

[txwitchery]

Mordire Serpent Spell

(NOTE: This old Cajun spell is included for historical purposes. To treat a real snakebite, you must receive a dose of antivenin, and so you should go to an emergency health clinic!)

Take a string with nine strands and make on it eight knots as you say:

jaumbe, jaumbe, majoumbe, jaumbe, jaumbe, giri!

(leg, leg, my leg, leg, leg, heal!)

Then, make a plaster with cocklebur or black tobacco leaves and place it onto the bite.